Ok, basically this thread is meant to inform the DOs and DON'Ts on XDA, and also how to do certain things. I started this thread as I have noticed that there has recently been an influx of posts that fail to serve their intended purpose well (e.g. asking for help, bug reporting etc.) Also I hope that this thread will serve to at least provide a general guideline.

Rules

1. No stealing of ROMs.

Ok, this is quite obvious but I thought it would do well to just explain what this is so that some of you don't accidentally steal someone else's ROM. What this means is:

You are not allowed to publish a ROM that you didn't create yourself. What this means is simple -- you are not allowed to publish on the web any ROM that you:

a. have not compiled from sources yourself AND that you haven't added in your own code to
b. have ported from another device WITHOUT permission from the original ROM developer
c. have cobbled together from already-published work (take parts from different ROMs and combine them for a hybrid ROM without adding in your own original code)

The following kind(s) of ROM(s) are exempt from this rule:

a. Stock ROMs with/without modifications

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If you contravene the above rule, it will mean that you have stolen a ROM. If you wish to publish a ROM that breaks the above rule, you have to OBTAIN THE PERMISSION of the developers of the parts (be it scripts, ROMs, mods etc.) that you used in your ROM. Furthermore, in your ROM thread, you must give proper credits to the devs whose work you used and also link back to the original ROM.

If your ROM is simply someone's ROM with cosmetic changes (e.g. different theme and/or a few scripts added in), you must do the above and also post it in the Themes and Apps section as an update.zip that only changes the parts of the ROM as needed.

Lesson is simple: If you want fame on XDA, learn how to compile your own ROM sources and don't simply soft-mod -- usually many people inadvertently steal someone else's ROM this way.

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Guidelines:

1. Don't post any non-development related stuff (bug-reports ARE development-related so feel free to post them though) -- it only serves to spam up the thread and hinder development. Posts like "This ROM is great", "this ROM is fast and the best I've used" and "Thanks for this awesome ROM" or, god-forbid, "This ROM sucks" etc are hardly informative, development-supportive, and have no purpose. You might feel good after posting this, but honestly it just serves to annoy others that are trying to locate something in the thread. So don't post this, PLEASE .

2. No ETAs. Please, do not post stuff like "When will the next release come along... can't wait!", "When will you fix XXX bug" and similar questions AT ALL. The ROM will be released when ready, and as above this only spams up the thread. If you are that impatient, I suggest you flash back to stock 2.1, no disappointments and is definitely the most stable .

3. Provide as much detail about your bug as possible. This is by far one of the most common problems. Posts like "my WiFi isn't working", "there's xxx when I yyy, please fix!" are really useless. There !re 1001 possible reasons why your WiFi isn't working, and why blahblahblah happens. To be actually helpful and have a greater chance of having your problem rectified, provide the following:

ROM you are on
Kernel you are using
Paraphernalia you have installed (e.g. Scripts like Supercharger, swap, OC frequency etc)
(If possible) How to replicate your issue
What steps you took to rectify the problem (if any)
Your logcat and dmesg

ON TERMINAL EMULATOR
How to get logcat output saved as a file called logcat.txt on your sdcard:

Code:

su
cat /dev/log/system > /sdcard/logcat.txt

And for dmesg to be saved as a file named dmesg.txt on your sdcard

Code:

su
cat /proc/kmsg > /sdcard/dmesg.txt

or for last dmesg after odd shutdown

Code:

su
cat /proc/last_kmsg > /sdcard/lastdmesg.txt

Flaming and trolling:

1. Refrainkfrom using personal insults as much as possible like "you are dumb", "how stupid can you get", "you are a noob" etc. This is the precursor to an unnecessary flame war. Try and be polite instead like, " you are new, so you may not know this, but blahblahblah". You were a noob once, so try and treat noobs as you would have wanted others to treat you when you were a noob.

2. Don't continue flaming. If someone posted something that flames something, don't flame back. Just report the post and sit back and relax. Continuing the post will just feed the troll and make things worse. You might get punished too.

3. Mind your language. Use English on XDA always, if you can't, include an English translated version of your original text and post it along with your original text. Also, never ever use vulgarities on XDA -- it's a surefire way to get infracted. Don't post any racist/political posts either. XDA is for mobile phone discussion and development, not for expressing your extremist/whatever views about...

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Q&A

1. Use the search tool first. You are just one of over 4 million members on XDA, and it is very likely that your question has been asked and answered already. Search before posting any question to avoid spamming the forums. Remember, you are likely to get an answer faster this way, and this also prevents you from being flamed if your question has been asked before

2. Don't be demanding. People do not have an obligation to do things for you, hence don't demand quick answers, insta-fixes, or a detailed step-by-step guide. It just shows how much you actually bothered to search for answers first and also people will be less likely to answer to you.

3. Post questions in the Q&A forums. Just because the DEV and General forums get more traffic doesn't mean that you should post them there. Again, your question will most likely be answered faster in the Q&A forums and you won't get flamed either.

4. Don't revive old threads and answer them. Recently I have seen users who answer threads 2 days+ old that have been resolved already. Their answer is usually a paraphrase of one of the answer posts above. Then they put in a "Please hit Thanks if I helped". Thanks for answering, but no thanks for spamming and trying to get thanks for free.

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Miscellaneous

1. Hit the Thanks button whenever you feel like posting Thanks instead. This reduces the amount of spam on the forums and is a good way of showing your appreciation for the person that helped you. Generally XDAers have a thanks limit of 8 per day, so use them wisely! (Unlimited on Tapatalk/XDA app apparently). At the same time, don't be a Thanks hunter -- someone who actively posts only for Thanks. Please, it is not some sort of "prestige meter", and anyway people can clearly see that you are a thanks hunter and will treat you as such.

2. Use the Report feature. If you see a post that breaks the XDA rules, report the post. Many people that I see just flame the rulebreaker on the thread instead of reporting and allowing a moderator to deal with things. Remember, moderators are not Gods that know whenever some person breaks a rule, so Report posts to help them along.

3. Think, search, then discuss, not the other way round. Only then will a constructive discussion start. Unfortunately, many people just post without thinking, resulting in flaming and general unpleasantness on the forums. XDA is a place where individuals from around the world gather to discuss and develop on mobile phones, so let's keep it that way .

XDA Developers was founded by developers, for developers. It is now a valuable resource for people who want to make the most of their mobile devices, from customizing the look and feel to adding new functionality.Are you a developer?